A spokesman for the Inter-Services Public Relations, the

media arm of the Pakistani military, condemned what he described as the "inhuman and brutal" killing of the soldier. He also said the soldier "lost his way between two posts and inadvertently crossed the LoC in Khoi Ratta sector". The military spokesman said the Pakistani side learnt of the death of the soldier when the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries spoke on their hotline this morning. "This is not the first such event. We have returned Indian soldiers in the past who had similarly strayed," he said. The 742-km LoC witnessed a string of clashes last month � the worst violations of a ceasefire that was put in place by India and Pakistan in late 2003. Both sides traded angry charges over the incidents before the DGMOs agreed on steps to de-escalate the situation.